Finstad and two others chased Tundra Joe on foot for four or five miles.

''People were trying to do us a favor by following him, but actually they were pushing him farther and farther away from us,'' Finstad said.

The chasers finally drove up beside Tundra Joe and netted him from the back of their truck. Finstad grabbed the net and the rest of the crew pounced on the runaway reindeer and wrestled him to the ground.

Carol Hammond was at her North Rader Drive home when she heard the shot from the net gun. Her husband, Bob, and son, Scott, were outside in the family hot tub and watched as Finstad and his group struggled with the reindeer.

''By the time we got out there, one of the guys was sitting on him,'' Carol Hammond said. ''They had a rope around his antlers and around a tree. The whole group looked pretty tired. You could tell they had a pretty intense moment.''

University Police Chief Terry Vrabec said the scene was quite a spectacle. Neighbors came out to help and cars lined up on the road.

''Greg (Finstad) was teary-eyed,'' Vrabec said.

Both Tundra Joe and Elsa were returned to his pen by 8:30 p.m. Joe looked happy and healthy and was even following Elsa around, panting after her.